By Byron Mutingwende
Dr Karikoga Kaseke, the Chief Executive of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) has all but confirmed the postponement of the much-anticipated Harare International Carnival for the second time in three months.
“We postponed the carnival that was supposed to be held in July because of the elections on 30 July. Because of the postponement at that time, other participating countries withdrew from the carnival. We then moved the date to 13 October but because of the state ban on public gatherings due to the cholera outbreak, we have postponed the Carnival to a yet-to-be-announced future date,” Dr Kaseke said.
The move will have drastic effects on the success of the carnival because it is highly likely that more participating countries will withdraw from the Carnival.
Despite the seemingly sad developments, the ZTA remains hopeful that the Carnival will go ahead this year before the onset of the rainy season if all goes according to plan.
In a move that instills hope in the millions of Carnival lovers, the ZTA has appointed Genius Kadungure aka Ginimbi who turns 34 on Wednesday 10 October 2018 as the Harare International Carnival Brand Ambassador.
The entertainment-crazy citizens received the news of Ginimbi’s appointment with mixed feelings.
Martin Rwambiwa, a Harare resident, described Ginimbi’s appointment as a joke and a caricature of the entertainment jamboree.
“The ZTA is trying to play fun games with us Zimbabweans. How can they, in their wisdom or lack of it, appoint the controversial businessman Ginimbi as the Harare International Carnival. That is ridiculous to say the least,” Rwambiwa opined.
But the ZTA Boss said Ginimbi’s appointment was not an overnight decision but a well-thought out one since Ginimbi is a force to reckon with in the entertainment circles, not only in Zimbabwe but in other Southern African nations like South Africa and Botswana.
Dr Kaseke and his team’s decisions have in the past proven critics wrong and it is highly anticipated that Ginimbi, the new Face of the Harare International Carnival for the next three years, by his own admission, will not disappoint Zimbabweans and millions of entertainment lovers the world over.
The celebrated yet controversial socialite, Ginimbi, was awarded a certificate and an appointment letter by the ZTA.
In his typical Ginimbi fashion, the Carnival Ambassador promised a paradigm shift in the way he will make the jamboree great as he proved that even though he was bred in rural Domboshava in Mashonaland East Province, he defied the odds and became the popular person he is today because he dreams big and works hard to reap positive results.
“It’s true I was born and bred in Domboshava but I never let that become a limitation. In life you must never give up on whatever you do and most people have heard or talked about me but they don’t know me so never judge. I’m a nice guy,” Ginimbi said.
